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Saturday, January 15, 2011

A Few Solutions...

Before I get down to the meat of this post, I'll keep it light by sharing Doreen's first 2 blocks for her 1880 Sampler Quilt. Besides, everyone loves pictures.

Tudor or Union Rose and...

Cornerstones.

Now for a few solutions to the problems plaguing me.

The other day I came to the realization that I have bitten off more than I can chew!

Too many irons in the fire!

I'm not having fun!

So, I listed my WIPs and UFOs in the order of the priority and all the other things will just have to go on the back burner. I will take a deep breath and relax. Then I will start with the first project and work on it in 3 hour increments until it is done. Then do the same for the next on the list, so forth and so on.

I will withdraw from some of my commitments.

First, no brown bag quilt contest!

Although this one disappoints me, I will have to strike my name off the signature block exchange over at my Small Quilt Talk yahoo group. The group is getting too large. This one really bothers me, so I will ruminate on it for a day or two before taking action.

NO MORE sew alongs or exchanges! The Barbara Brackman Civil War BOTW will only get done if I feel I have time. Did you see this week's block? I think that is what helped me decide to back away from this one.

And with that off my chest, I also came up with a plan for my 'unsquare' quilt dilemma.

Upon the advice of my quilting friends, Kristine and Lin, I sprayed the quilt top with lots and lots of spray sizing and steam pressed the heck out of it.

Guess what?

The new center measurement was 69"--what I needed it to be.

However, the top and bottom borders are still at 65"--1" short for the outer border to fit correctly.

Did I mention that the outer border is pieced with homespun?!

So I will be sewing a smidge extra here and there when piecing the outer border and hope the machine quilter will not look at me sideways when I turn the whole thing over to her!

I am praying she can work wonders!
I love this quilt and will enter it anyways, no matter what the outcome.
It is the first thing on my list and I will get the quilt top finished by Wed., because I get to go to SoCal for a few days to the Road to California Show. Whoopee!﻿

18 comments:

Wow, that's a lot of decision making there. But you are right , there are so many enticing projects. When we take on too many then the fun is gone. And if nothing else it has to be fun.I am glad you worked out your dilemma, sorry I had no solution to offer.

I am not sure either, whether to go on with the blocks from Barbara Brackman. I for sure won't make the one this week. I dont like it!YES! I can only agree with you, quilting has to be fun and sometimes (very often) we quilters sign up for much too much. And we have to make decisions, that we dont like, but we feel much better afterwards.Have a nice and relaxing weekend :-)

Hi Cheryl, I agree with you on the block of Barbara this week, but I'll certainly be replaced by another if I keep making the quilt. I'll see what she brings next week. But I found your 1880 Sampler that I love. If you no matter I like to start it this week. I have a shop with workshops in Spain and I'm working with the girls this year a Dear Jane. I invite you to see what we are doing there.

I know, it's REALLY stressful when you have too many projects going on... but my motto is: if I have fun on these many trips, I won't take it too serious, if I'll never reach the goal! I survived, block 15 finished;)

I think you have made a very smart decision. You will be happier finishing your work in progress quilts and not taking on anymore projects. I have done the same thing this year. I am going to work on 1 quilt at a time to the finish and then start another .

Good for you Cheryl for the ability to let go! I too am guilty of being over ambitious with quilting projects.Quilting should be a joyful expression of one's self. So happy to hear that you are following your heart on this one!

Good for you, Cheryl. If you aren't having fun; step back. I started the year with similar intentions. I made a list of the top 3 UFO's I want to finish. When those are done...on to the next 3. That way (hopefully), I will only feel guilty about 3 at a time. LOL :) NancyB in AZ

I agree with you about Brackman's Civil War quilt block this week - I was disappointed too. Do you have any suggestions for a star block that would be true to the period? Some of the other comments on the Civil War quilt blog which were prompted by your honest admission irritated me. It was as if they thought you had no right to like or dislike or be disappointed or have any opinion other than slavish approval of the block selection because it was free! How silly.

So glad you've worked out your problem on the beautiful applique quilt. It will be marvelous! have fun at Road to CA! Sure wish I could see my quilt hanging there! Be sure to look for it if you remember...Life in the Midwest. Eagle, hexies, and applique all around. Take care!

I can understand your dilemma with commitments. That seems to be a constant battle for me, too! Too many fun things to do and not enough time to do them! You're so good about getting projects done that you'll no doubt still manage to complete a bunch of them.

I too have been doing the Civil War Quilt blocks. But I don't do applique, and truthfully I did not like the block either. I never even commented on the blog this time. So I will be looking for a replacement. Unless the blocks become too complicated, and then maybe I will have a wall hanging or table topper :-)

Thanks for this post, Cheryl. It got me thinking and I will probably back away from the CW project, too. I'll enjoy following it and seeing what others do. I'm sure your project will turn out just fine. Have fun at the show!

Great post, Cheryl. I'm finally starting to tell myself that I don't have to do everything. Sometimes that's just not easy to do. I'm glad that you will be going to Ontario. My DH and I will be there for Saturday only.

Good for you! I love your blog, and was wondering how you had time for it all, including working at the shoppe. There are so many enticing projects out there, it is really hard to decide what to do next. I also want to keep my quilting a fun hobby, not a chore! I still want to have time to make some quilts for others, and to do some fun jelly roll, charm squares, snibbles etc. Stick by your decision. I am going to wait a while prior to starting anything else as well!

I have been enjoying your 1880 Sampler Quilt blocks. I have to agree, we sometimes take on too much, and we feel quite a bit of group pressure, but being able to back away when it becomes overwhelming is sometimes the right thing to do!